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  • Musipedia Of Metal

    Reviews: Power Paladin, Iron Slug, Tomorrows Outlook, Helgafell (Matt Bladen & Spike)

    Power Paladin - Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment (ROAR)

    Icelandic power metal band Power Paladin, need to do two things with their sophomore record Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment.

    Number one: showing anyone who missed it why they scored a massive 9/10 from me with their debut album Magic Of Windfyre Steel. Number two: whether they can recapture that glorious fantasy power metal brilliance on this follow up.

    Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment definitely shows their hand early with another conceptual saga where Dungeons & Dragons, Robert E. Howard, Frank Frazetta and anything that features swords and sorcery combines with that power metal purity of bands such as Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Helloween and also DragonForce (Glade Lords Of Athel Loren).

    So they begin with answering both questions in earnest, galloping bass and drums, light speed guitar harmonies, sweeping keys and soaring vocals this is power metal for the old school crowd, but Power Paladin refine it all with album two, as they bring speed/thrash metal explosivity on opener Sword Vigour and The Royal Road, the latter adding some Maiden gallops from the rhythm section.

    Power Paladin are a band about majesty and might, creating fantasy worlds to explore with their music, the production crystalline so you can hear every moment and while debut had lots of youthful exuberance, this one is more refined, the maturity, they now have shining through, with the cinematic tones of Aegis Of Eternity and theatrical Camelot Rock City.

    They also show their connections with Majestica's Tommy Johansson joining on the neoclassical intensity of The Arcane Tower, but the six piece don't need any additional help really as they have locked in their sound since the debut but refine it with album two. 

    As Valediction closes Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment, with nine minute Blind Guardian-like epic, Power Paladin cement their style as classic power metal for a new generation. A well deserved 9/10

    Iron Slug– Deceit And Misery (Independent) [Spike]

    There is a specific, heavy-set joy in stumbling onto a band that has already built a fortress while you weren't looking. While Iron Slug has a back catalogue that I now realise needs urgent excavation, Deceit and Misery functions as a sudden, hostile takeover for the uninitiated. It is a record that plays out like a high-velocity speed date with the history of heavy metal, hitting on sludge, doom, and various darker corners of the underground in a way that feels curated rather than cluttered.

    The experience starts with the brilliant intro to A Calming Turmoil, and immediately, the production choices stand out. The crash of the cymbals and the drums have this distant, unpolished quality, it sounds like the kit is being hammered in the room next door while the rest of the band is right in your face. It’s a raw, honest bit of atmosphere that leads directly into a sludgy, doomy drive of bass and guitars that doesn't just invite you in; it drags you down.

    As the record moves into Love Retires Under Night and Graceless Bodies, the band’s ability to pivot between influences becomes their greatest weapon. One minute you’re caught in a slow-burn, tectonic crawl, and the next, a jagged, old-school death metal riff is cutting through the fog. It’s a grime-flecked balance between the slow-burn atmosphere and the sudden, jagged violence that rewards the listener for sticking with the downward momentum.

    The middle stretch, Die The Same and Ritualistic Feeding, doubles down on the grit. There’s a physical weight to the rhythm section here, a bruised-rib honesty that avoids the high-gloss polish of modern metalcore in favour of something far more subterranean. The vocals are a guttural anchor amidst the noise, delivered with a level of conviction that suggests these aren't just "protest songs," but a documented reality of the grind.

    There is a distinct, dirt-under-the-fingernails feeling to the way this record ends, a silence that carries the weight of the debris it just created. Iron Slug haven't just provided a heavy distraction; they've built a sonic environment where the physical impact of the riff is the only thing that matters. It’s a masterclass in the beauty of the collision, and it’s effectively sent me straight to the archives to uncover exactly what else I’ve been missing while they were busy making the floorboards groan. 8/10

    Tomorrow's Outlook - Black Waves (Battlegod Productions/Sörvik Rock Music) [Matt Bladen]

    Black Waves is Tomorrows Outlook third studio album of heavy power metal that takes from the US sound despite the band being from Norway.

    In the for fans of section names like Crimson Glory, Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson are thrown around and those latter comparisons come from the vocals of Tony Johannessen who’s a dead ringer for the air raid siren. 

    Whether it’s commanding the rampaging rockers such as Eventide or on the mid-pace stompers like Oceans Of Sadness, he’s got that Bruce bombast which is ideal for the conceptual nature of these songs written by bassist Andreas Stenseth and manager/songwriter Trond Nicolaisen, the ideas of folklore, costal tragedy and history all inspiring the lyrical side of the album.

    So Black Waves is written by a bassist, featuring two guitarists, often in harmony and air raid siren voice, Iron Maiden is definitely going to be a big influence (Down Falls The Axe), so though is a band like Heaven’s Gate and that thrashier German scene.

    So it’s no surprise that the album was mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth to make sure that the guitars of Øystein K. Hanssen and Valentino Francavilla have that that dirtier street sound of Judas Priest on Silver Ghost and Wait For The Sun, as there’s swashbuckling on the title track and more power metal propulsion on Lament Of The Dammed as Owe Lingvall’s drumming gets a chance to gallop.

    Black Waves is the first album from Tomorrows Outlook since 2018 and while their name suggests otherwise they are band who look to yesterday for inspiration, filling their third album with some classic heavy metal. 7/10

    Helgafell – Chronicles (Naturmacht Productions) [Spike]

    Anglo-Saxon history is a bloody, jagged mess of "blood and toil," and on Chronicles, Helgafell has attempted to convert that collective memory into four sprawling chapters of atmospheric black metal. It’s a concept album in the truest sense, digging into the battles and kings that defined the late Anglo-Saxon reign. However, as is often the case with one-man solo projects, there is a visible seam to the music, a sense that the record has been "constructed" layer by layer in a room rather than "delivered" by a living, breathing unit.

    The experience begins with The Harrying Of The North, and the talent on display is undeniable. The guitars possess a cold, pagan-inflected melody that fits the "torch of remembrance" theme perfectly. But as the nearly seven-minute track unfolds, the transition between the atmospheric calms and the high-velocity black metal stabs feels a bit mechanical. You can almost feel the moment the track shifts from "Part A" to "Part B" on the monitor; it lacks that organic, unpredictable flow that usually comes from a full lineup feeding off each other's energy.

    The Bandit Of The Marsh and The Council Of Folly continue this trend of technical dexterity meeting studio-mandated rigidity. There’s a lot to admire here, the drum programming is sophisticated and the layering of the synths adds a genuine sense of historical scale yet it feels a tad disjointed. It’s like looking at a meticulously built model of a cathedral; the detail is stunning, but you can’t help but notice the glue at the corners. It’s "constructed" noise, lacking the raw, bruised-rib honesty that usually defines this genre.

    The record finds its most cohesive momentum during The Union Of Kings. It’s the final chapter of the Anglo-Saxon narrative, and it leans heavily into a more heroic, rhythmic strut. The production is high-fidelity, which is a credit to the one-man effort but it occasionally robs the sound of the "gristle" needed for a record about medieval warfare. It’s a clean, professional excavation that sounds more like a documented history than a visceral experience.

    By the time the final notes of The Union Of Kings subside, the story is complete, but the emotional connection feels a bit fragmented. Helgafell has clearly put an immense amount of work into the research and the performance, yet Chronicles remains a record of brilliant, isolated parts that haven't quite fused into a singular soul. It’s an interesting, highly talented look at the English kingdom’s roots, but it left me wishing for a bit more blood on the strings and a bit less precision in the mix. 7/10

    Reviews: Wildernesses, Only Human, Divine Chaos, Final Coil (Spike, Matt Bladen, Mark Young & Rich Piva)

    Wildernesses – Growth (Independent) [Spike]

    You don’t just put a record like Growth on; you let it leak into the room like a damp patch on a cellar wall. 

    Hailing from a space somewhere between the reverb-drenched ghosts of 1991 and the tectonic weight of modern post-metal, Wildernesses have delivered a forty-minute document that understands a fundamental truth: the best noise is the kind you have to wait for. It’s a record of patience, pained storytelling, and a level of distortion that would make Jim Reid nod in grudging, feedback-soaked approval.

    It starts with Sleepless, an instrumental that spends nearly two minutes doing absolutely nothing but building a cold, atmospheric dread. It’s a masterclass in the slow-burn, a hazy threshold of clean tones that feels like a long walk home in the rain before the cymbals finally crack and the floor drops out. 

    When the distortion hits, it isn't just "loud"; it’s a shimmering, multi-layered wash that keeps its melodic soul even when the volume is redlining. It’s that specific Jesus And Mary Chain-style trick: burying the beauty so deep in the fuzz that you have to work to find it.

    The real heart-punch arrives with Happy Hollow. As a lifelong disciple of the original shoegaze blueprint, hearing these vocals kick in is pure catharsis. 

    There’s a pained, melodic clarity here, a direct descendant of the "ethereal-age" legacy that manages to sound fragile even while the rhythm section is trying to shake the teeth out of your gums. It gives tracks like [dread] and English Darkness a narrative weight that feels properly epic, turning the "atmospheric" tag into a vehicle for genuine, bruised-rib storytelling.

    The middle of the record, Terrible Bloom and Maintenance, is where the post-rock engine really starts to smoke. These aren't just "jams"; they are expanding soundscapes. 

    The production is exceptional, keeping the delicate, needle-fine guitar lines audible even when the low-end churn is at its most oppressive. It moves with a mechanical persistence on Maintenance, suggesting a band that knows exactly how to build a crescendo until the room feels too small to hold it.

    As we move through the long-form desolation of Cassino and Four Hour Drive, the "weight of emotion" the band talks about becomes a physical presence. Four Hour Drive, in particular, captures that specific, road-weary exhaustion of a 3 AM transit, leading into the finale of Summertime, 1917.

    When the final vibration eventually cuts out, you’re left with a silence that feels heavy and entirely earned. Wildernesses have spent this record measuring the depth of the void, proving that the most interesting thing about a wall of sound is the cracks you can see in it if you look close enough. 

    It’s an honest, unvarnished account of the grind, a heavy, shimmering reminder that the best shoegaze is the kind that leaves you looking for the exit while you’re still enjoying the fall.

    Personally, and it’s my review, I bloody love this. 10/10

    Only Human - Planned Obsolescence (Season Of Mist) [Matt Bladen]

    Denmark has quite a history with forward thinking prog bands, from the prog power of Pyramaze, to the industrial elements Mnemic and the modern sound from Vola, their prog metal scene isn’t vast but has always been very musically gifted and willing to break new ground.

    Only Human are the latest to make their mark internationally with what they call “existential prog metal” inspired by TesseracT, Spiritbox, Bring Me The Horizon and countrymen Vola (early albums), this is as modern as it gets with huge emotional release coming from the clean/harsh vocal, power inside the cavernous riffs and melody and fragility from the atmospheric synths/keys (Sleep Descent).

    Planned Obsolescence is a dystopian record that warns of humanities impending downfall as we are consistently forced to replace things are working due to incompatibilities that are deliberately written into the code, it ponders whether it is us who are really the product.

    What I do always find humorous, I guess, with albums that deal with ideas like this, is that they are densely layered with electronics and try to emulate that synthetic feel as much as possible while warning you against the encroaching importance of technology, it's this conflict that makes the songs come alive as the skill here is to make it feel automated but with real humans doing the creative part.

    Here with tracks such as Breach and Sleep Descent, Only Human, prove to be more than human as the electronic elements are particularly strong. Even a slower tracks like Death Cult and Techno Fascists have introspective ambience, a lingering sensation of the ominous that comes from the fight against losing our humanity.

    With ethical technological dilemmas are big on Planned Obsolescence but the music driven by human passion and skill, resulting in cutting edge prog metal from Only Human. 9/10

    Divine Chaos - Hate Reactor (Independent) [Mark Young]

    A touch of Brit Metal!! Divine Chaos have returned with Hate Reactor, their follow up to The Way To Oblivion that dropped (as I am reliably told) back in 2020.

    So, I’m adding Divine Chaos to a list of bands that show an incredible amount of promise in grasping what makes metal tick whilst managing muddy that message up. I’m getting ahead of myself, so lets take in the positives here (and there is a ton of them). 

    It sounds tip-top, its clear, precise and you really get submerged within these super sharp guitar lines. Its aggressively played, harnessing a modern tone that allows them to also drop face-melting lead breaks at will. 

    I’ll point you in the direction of Hate Reactor, the second track that is a great summation of this approach. Straight forward, down the middle rhythms and guttural vocals, you can’t go wrong with this. 

    The lead break is excellent, and in all honesty if someone asked me for an example of what good sounds like, I’d set them here. In fact, they have such a handle on making the guitars the main focus, with the interplay, harmony lines everything sounding so on point its hard not to get carried away.

    The downside is where they utilise cleans. They come in and add an unwanted sheen to things, so much so that it snaps me out of it. For me, they offer nothing and detract from the oft stunning work they have done on here. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strongly about this before, possibly because of how strong the music is behind I am genuinely upset by it. 

    I hate to be negative about anything, especially this. Again, this is a personal opinion, and on reflection when you weigh up the presence of the cleans against the guitar work that is in place here, the choice of ignoring it is yours to make.

    As albums go, they have crafted a strong one in spite of my feelings towards the other style of singing. Of the 9 tracks here, only Condemned To The Void feels like a misstep and again that leans more into the aggravation I have with that clean singing. 

    Elsewhere, each track has that quality that when transposed to the live arena will cause the crowd to well and truly go off. Playing these live will roughen them up, refine their edge but only slightly. On balance, they can be rightly proud of their efforts here. 7/10

    Final Coil - 1994 (Nyctophobic Records) [Rich Piva]

    Final Coil has had a wild ride on this blog. 

    Polarizing would be a good word for it, but I gave their 2024 record, The World We Inherited, a pretty decent score as they nicely incorporate 90s alt stuff with some proggy and metal leanings with some synths added in too. Cool. 

    The band now has decided to go “back to their roots” , mentioning bands that put out important records in that year as reference points: Alice In Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, and Machine Head. 

    I get all these reference points, I just wish they would stop mentioning Pink Floyd, for multiple reasons. Anyway, the four songs from this new EP are supposed to harken back to the days of flannel and whatnot. As someone who pillaged K-Mart’s racks to find a different flannel pattern, I will be the judge of that.

    OK sure, it is raw and tuned down, so that’s cool. Instant Fix, the opener, sounds like a band from 1994, but maybe one of the ones that got signed to a major because every other one did and then no one liked it except for me, the band got dropped, and it wound up in the promo bin. This is a compliment. Remember The Vines? I get that too. That one is not so much a complement. Narcissist is a fun little 90s track with all of the self loathing a good kid of the early to mid 90s had. It sounds like a demo from the session where Dig recorded their self-titled debut. 

    Playing Games gives me Liars Inc. vibes, which is a good thing, but the song is so raw it leans a little too much towards the demo side of the house, which is maybe what they were going for? I like the harmonized vocal effort and its unabashed tribute to the year the EP is named after. It is fun that they got the ex-drummer of 90s favourite Therapy? To perform on the EP, which adds some cred for sure. Speaking of, Woke kind of reminds me of Therapy? Just a bit. It is another fun and raw effort. A song called Woke from an EP called 1994 though?

    You can tell Final Coil had fun with 1994. It is very raw and underdone, which is a 180 from their usual output, and is kind of refreshing. The four songs here are a nice tribute to a time the band obviously incorporated into their sound, without it being a boring covers record. Good job. 7/10


    Reviews: Stonus, Mystfall, Fuzzing Nation, Sanctum Pyre (Matt Bladen)

    Stonus - Space To Dive (Ripple Music)

    Finally I get one from the internationally recognised leaders of all things riff, Ripple Music.

    I couldn't let m'colleague Mr Piva get his hands on this big fat slice of Cypriot fuzz, so I snapped it up to see what the band had to offer on their second studio album. Their debut Ripple after previous records came via Electric Valley/Daredevil Records and Ouga Booga And The Mighty Oug, the label of Greek stoner rockers 1000mods. 

    It's in with, bands like 1000mods and Planet Of Zeus that Stonus fall style wise, both previous touring partners, while there's also a lot of gratitude payed to Nightstalker and American Space Lord Mutha's Monster Magnet. Space To Dive then has to prove why Stonus were signed to such a prestigious label in the riff scene. 

    They burst out of the speakers immediately with woozy, psych-drenched chugs that pull you into an album inspired by "the torus field — the visual representation of sound, energy, and atomic vibration", the connection between everything in the universe, the metaphor for this band who live in different countries but coexist as one entity within music. 

    The connection between the band is obvious with a tracks like Follow Me and Psychactive Baby where the bottom end of drummer Kotsios Demetriades and bassist Alaa Albaharna give them hypnotic grooves of the Monster Magnet universe, the vocals of Kyriacos Frangoulis have that reverb drawl of Wyndorf. 

    Colours has Pavlos Demetriou and Nikolas Frangoulis playing some biting riffs from the likes of Mastodon while In Loop brings dazed desert rock of Nightstalker, to the record with lots of space to lose yourself in the groove as it segues into the explorative Tangerine and the heavy doom of The Hermit. 

    While I've mentioned their influences a lot Stonus manage to create a sound of their own inspired by the bands I've talked about, Stonus' debut for Ripple is a more diverse journey into psychedelic heaviness, so strap in and enjoy this cosmic ride through Ripple accredited riffs. 9/10

    Mystfall - Embers Of A Dying World (Scarlet Records)

    Embers Of The Dying World is the second album from Greek band Mystfall. Led by soprano Marialena Trikoglou, they very much fall into classic grandiose sound of symphonic metal originators Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation. 

    No 80's synths, pop influences or anything like that which comes into symphonic metal these days, Mystfall are all about Marialena's soaring operatic vocals, sweeping orchestral movements and power metal backing that brings galloping riffs. 

    Embers Of A Dying World poses the question, what's left if we keep destroying the planet at the rate we are? The band explore these though the concept of an alternate world where dreams are alive and fighting nightmares, so someone has read Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.

    I digress though as these emotionally resonant themes are released with the theatrical, cinematic sound of Mystfall as Aris Baris' guitars create the cutting riffs and escalating leads, as Dimitris Miglis' drums provide the pace locked in with Stelios Vrotsakis' bass who brings that often needed other element of traditional symphonic metal bands, the harsh male vocals. 

    Embers Of A Dying World by Mystfall recalls that initial symphonic metal era and when every other band is trying to modernise, their time-honoured, classically driven sound needs to be appreciated. 8/10

    Fuzzing Nation - Mother Truck (Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records) 

    Another album of Greek fuzz this week with a journey to a Fuzzing Nation. 

    Again let's get them out of the way early as Fuzzing Nation have influence from 1000mods, Planet Of Zeus, Nightstalker, with a look outside of Greece to the greasy riffs of Fu Manchu and bands born from that Sky Valley scene. 

    They were formed in 2022 by Angel Ioannidis (vocals/guitar) and Steve Giannakos (bass) both of doom band Sorrows Path as ex-Innerwish drummer Terry Moros finishes the trio who have a lot experience behind them in the studio and on stage. 

    Born from a spontaneous studio jam, that D.I.Y ethos of "play it how it feels" that's directed their two previous EPs, returns on their debut full length but they approach it with a conceptual edge of this album being a chase through the desert, part Smokey And The Bandit, part Vanishing Point through the wastelands of Mad Max. 

    This big Mother Truck speeds through dunes of grooving riffs where the early desert rock pioneers meet the post punk throb of Blondie on The Elders Code and Sabbath goes punk for I Don't Believe. These detours to the juggernaut of fuzzy stoner riffs are welcome variation in a style that can become a little one note. 

    Fuzzing Nation though keep you interested and your head bobbing on their debut, whether you can follow the story or not, the music tells its own with fuzz and fury. 8/10

    Sanctum Pyre - He Who Remains (Steel Gallery Records)

    Sanctum Pyre aren't as much a band as they are a studio project with international reach. Forged by a trio of musicians based in different parts of the world. 

    However the fact that Battle Symphony's Nikos Tzouannis, writes all the music, orchestrations, lyrics, plays the keyboards, and produces it means that their worthy of inclusion here, it also helps that they are signed to Greek label Steel Gallery. 

    Now it's not a solo effort as Nikos is joined by mysterious guitarist/bassist/drum programmer/mixer Mike G and vocalist Rob Lundgren who has sung for everyone and their mother, but when your voice is that good I'd hire him too. 

    Sanctum Pyre is a band I'd call an epic metal band, one moment (The Hammer And The Cross) they've got the weapons in the air march of Manowar, then the next it's the anthemic tones of Sonata Arctica, the folk filled style of Blind Guardian and dramatic storytelling of Kamelot.

    The latter especially when they take Middle Eastern routes on Daughter Of The Wind where Thomas Karam of Noor and Shlomit Lev of Orphaned Land join. The one criticism I will say is that they do seem to have just the one intro riff on about three or for of the songs, that sounds very similar but bands have made careers playing the same song repeatedly so it's not too much of an issue. 

    He Who Remains combines a lot of different sounds from different bands into one fantasy influenced heavy metal record, swords held high this pyre burns brightly. 8/10


    Reviews: Neurosis, Mclusky, Exodus, Gong (Rich Piva)

    Neurosis - An Undying Love For A Burning World (Neurot Recordings)

    Look, I am not going to sit here and write this pretending I am something more than a casual Neurosis fan. Have I enjoyed their work? Yes. Do they have some records that are post metal sludgy classics? Of course. A Sun That Never Sets for example. For me though, Neurosis has always been a mood band, which is probably why I never dove deep into the darkest depths of their catalog. 

    Well it's a good thing that the world is in a mood because it is the perfect time for a new, surprise, Neurosis record, titled An Undying Love For A Burning World. What could be a better title for a record dropped in 2026? What record could sound more perfect for a Neurosis in 2026? Add ISIS vocalist and post metal legend Aaron Turner to the mix, and you have everyone screaming for An Undying Love For A Burning World as an album of the year candidate. They would be right.

    First off, Turner fits in perfectly. I am not sure anyone else could have filled the role. Second, the vibe of this record is the vibe of humankind right now, put to music. There is still a tiny glimmer of hope under all the despair on An Undying Love For A Burning World, but there is a lot of bleakness on these eight songs. The intro, We Are Torn Wide Open, is 58 seconds of tone setting, which leads into the heavy tidal wave of Mirror Deep. Right away you hear the synergy with the band and their new singer, who completely understands the task at hand. 

    Musically, the dissonance and the heavy to soft, quiet to loud is what this band is all about and is on full display here. The production of the record is perfect for what it is all about. Words are hard to pick to describe An Undying Love For A Burning World, but what I can say is the three track run of Blind, Seething And Scattered, and Untethered will be in the mix for some of the best parts of any record all year. 

    Blind, with the riffs and doomy sludgyness, Seething And Scattered, with the synth and noises to go along with the great riff and killer vocals, and Untethered, which sounds wonderfully like its name while having just enough melody underneath the surface to keep you right with it. Only a handful of you will be excited when I say the last two songs are a total of 28 minutes, but like what I assume it was making this record, we all must sacrifice for the art, and the payoff is so very worth it.

    Someone just throwing this record on with no context or background might not get it. They may say it’s too long, or too all over the place, or they don’t like growly vocals. But even for a casual fan like me, this record absolutely blew me away. I can only imagine how the Neurosis super-fans feel; having their band back in 2026, with Aaron Turner on vocals, and the result being An Undying Love For A Burning World. Breathtaking. 9/10

    Mclusky - I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley (Ipecac Records)

    Mclusky is one of my favourite bands of all time. Given how they ended, I thought we would never hear another peep from them as that band. Not only did we get a peep, we got a pretty much perfect Mclusky album last year in the form of the aptly titled The World Is Still Here And So Are We. 

    After 22 years the band was back and sounded like they never left. Surely we won’t have anything else new? We certainly do, as the embarrassment of riches for Mclusky fans continues with the mini album I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley, which is such a Mclusky album title. This blast of Mclusky goodness is six songs in thirteen minutes that continues the top quality new material that the 2025 record was chock full of.

    Of course the first line of the mini album opener, I Know Computer, is “Long hair, no skin?”. What else could it be? We get a driving bass line, trademark Mclusky guitar work, and Andrew Falkous being Andrew Falkous both vocally and lyrically. As A Dad could be on any of the other classic Mclusky records and should be a live staple going forward. In the piranha was another piranha. Indeed. Spock Culture has some fun background vocals as the bass drives the vocals and the rest of the track along perfectly, for another undoubtedly Mclusky track. 

    Hi, We’re On Strike is protest song, Mclusky style. It’s simple math. The noise rock category they get thrown in sometimes gets some evidence from this one. Fan Learning Difficulties seems like a weird love letter to all the shit rock lovers out there. I hear you Falco. The closer, That Was My Brain On Elves, is pretty damn deep for a track with that title and is just Falco and guitar telling us all the meaning of life.

    More new Mclusky, please. Keep it coming. Falco may be Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley, but no Mclusky fan is sick of their new material in any shape or form. 9/10

    Exodus - Goliath (Napalm Records)

    Thrash bands from the 80s seem to want to prove they can still bring the heavy in 2026. This was true of Overkill a couple years ago, of Testament’s amazing new record last year (absolutely killer stuff), and now true of Goliath, the new record from thrash legends Exodus. While not trying to prove that they are as fast as everyone as they may have on their last record, the band certainly brings the heavy, and a lot of it, on the ten tracks for almost an hour of headbanging California thrash.

    A couple of thighs to get out of the way. First, this record should have been shorter than its 55 minute run time. There is nothing bad on Goliath, it is just a lot for one sitting. It is a tad slick production-wise, but you can get past that given the performances and the songs. Rob Dukes is back on vocals, and he sounds great. Of course Gary Holt is Gary Holt, and he has not slowed down a bit on this record. You can tell that is true right off the bat on the opener, 3111, which is a straight up ripper. 

    Hostis Humani Generis shows that the only true original member of Exodus, drummer Tom Hunting, is still a madman and can hang with anyone in the genre. The Changing Me sounds as close to Iron Maiden will ever sound and is a great old school thrasher. The slow burn title track is certainly an interesting choice, especially with Katie Jacoby adding violin to the mix. Other highlights for me include the circle pit madness of Beyond The Event Horizon, the mid tempo rocker Violence Works, and how the record closes with another ripper, The Dirtiest Of The Dozen.

    A fine effort for the 2026 version of Exodus, indeed. I got to see the band live last year, and the songs on Goliath will fit right in a live set. I think fans of the band will be happy with this record and it fits nicely with their later period work. 7/10

    Gong - Bright Spirit (Kscope)

    Gong has been around since the late 1960s. This is not the same band as the original lineup. A quick glance and their wiki and it looks like there have been at least 100 people in the band, give or take. I am in no way a historian on Gong, but I can say I enjoyed some of their early stuff. The new record, Bright Spirit, did not give me the same tingly feelings the older stuff did.

    Why? It is so cleanly produced it is like antiseptic. A song like The Wonderment was five minutes of going nowhere. The opener, Mantivule, made me anxious for some reason. Stars In Heaven was more on the psych pop side of things and is by far my favourite track on the record. Most of the record is a lot of proggy bits that really don’t connect with me.

    I am sure there are better people to review this record, but as a Gong novice, nothing on Bright Spirit is bringing me into the fold. There is nothing here for me to grab onto or have a return listen to. It’s not bad, just not for me. A bit too sterile and a bit too safe for my liking. 5/10

    Reviews: The Holeum, Goatsmoker, Imbrium, Astral Goat Dominion (Rick Eaglestone, Mark Young, Matt Bladen & Joe Gautieri)

    The Holeum – Ensis (Lifeforce Records) [Rick Eaglestone]

    The Holeum return with their third album Ensis via Lifeforce Records and if you haven’t been paying attention to what this band have been quietly building since their 2016 debut, now is absolutely the time to fix that. 

    This is a record that resists any single genre tag – part Death Doom, part Post-Metal, part Progressive and part something that genuinely doesn’t have a name yet – and it is all the more essential for it.

    Album opener The Fermi Paradox does exactly what the best openers do – it sets the terms and dares you to keep up. The conceptual framing is right there in the title: that vast, unresolved question of why, given the statistical near certainty of extra-terrestrial life, silence is all we’ve ever received back. 

    Pablo Egido’s vocals carry that weight convincingly, ranging from low, cavernous growls to something that sounds less like singing and more like a transmission sent into the void with no expectation of reply. 

    It’s patient, heavy, and completely uncompromising – a statement of intent that Cosmic Void Spheres then moves sharply on from, arriving with a density and emotional reach that makes the album’s full ambitions plain. 

    The guitar interplay between Luis Albadalejo and Julián Velasco surfaces here with some of the album’s most overtly melodic passages, and when clean vocals appear alongside them, this is the moment Ensis first shows you that devastation and beauty are, in The Holeum’s vocabulary, simply the same thing from different angles.

    Macrocosm + Microcosm is where this record starts to demonstrate what separates The Holeum from their contemporaries. The track moves from something intimate and fragile to something that feels continental in its weight, and Miguel A. Fernández’s drumming is the structural backbone holding it all together – this is a band thinking about architecture, not just impact. 

    Spontaneous Synchronization follows and is perhaps the most rewarding track on the album on repeat listens. There is nothing accidental about how its elements cohere, even as they appear to be working against one another, and Paco Porcel’s bass sits at the centre of it providing gravity when everything else threatens to pull apart. The mood never fully resolves and that feels entirely deliberate – it is an unsettling listen in the best possible sense.

    Hyperdimensional Physics leans hardest into the progressive side of The Holeum’s sound and is Ensis at its most compositionally ambitious – structural phases that would feel jarring from a lesser band feel completely earned here, each one growing logically out of what came before it. If you want to know what this band are genuinely capable of, go and put this one on loud. 

    Esoteric Futuristic Visions then builds around Egido’s drone work to deliver something atmospherically distinct from anything else on the record – forward-facing and speculative, a sound that looks beyond the edge of the known rather than retreating into familiar territory. 

    For a band, whose entire conceptual identity is rooted in the furthest reaches of the cosmos, this is where that vision feels most fully realised.

    Ensis closes with Geometric Congruence Vortex, and it is a closer that earns every second of its runtime – the clean tones of its opening minutes give the listener room to process the journey the album has taken them on, and the gradual return of heavier elements feels less like repetition and more like the album quietly acknowledging everything it has been.

    Overall Ensis is the record that the Holeum’s genre-defying blend of Doom, Post-Rock, Death, and Progressive metal is rendered with a cohesion and emotional devastation that their previous work was pointing towards but never quite reached. 7/10

    Goatsmoker - E.R.I.S (VinylTroll Records) [Mark Young]

    And to close out the week, how about some massive riffs? Here to satisfy that need is Copenhagen’s Goatsmoker who bring their latest sonic pummelling for your delight and delectation. 

    I should qualify that statement that this is primarily for those who dine out on big, fat guitars, vocals that have been dragged out and jumped on and song lengths that test your power of endurance. If you are still onboard after that description then you will find 5 songs of doom perfection.

    Cursed leads the 4 piece out to play and over 9 minutes gradually grind you to a pulp. This isn’t super polished, their own bio notes that imperfection is key for them, and I suppose that is the case when you hear discord that is brought down on later moments. It’s the sound of a band that writes music that excites them first and you second. 

    I’d love to wax lyrical about it but there’s little point. This is doom for those affection for it is captured within the lengthy, repeating mantras that their songs offer. It’s something when they make the shortest song feel like it has been stretched out of form, which is what they do on Waiting. 

    It has a background sound that is like air raid sirens wailing in the distance and its here that those imperfections come in. When it does change, its subtle, little increases in speed here and there without sounding out of place. What doesn’t change is the weight of these riffs, they are fuzzed out and in turn almost blissed out as they teeter on a knife edge without falling over. Gods Of Gunzilla is a prime example of this. Its drawn out, slow, measured to the point of collapse but is pulled back each time. 

    Doom fans will be all over this, that is without a doubt because it takes all of the key maxims for what you expect this genre to offer and puts them on a plate for you. The trouble is that for those liking a faster or shorter style then this is likely to turn you off. Saying that, if you made it through Cursed then you know what you have let yourself in for.

    Entropy Reigns In Silence is the penultimate song and is massive. Truly massive, possessed with more life than the preceding tracks, it’s a glacial tempo but one that continues moving forward at all times. I would suggest that the best way to experience this is with headphones, which enable you to immerse yourself within this song. It changes shape as it pushes forward to the end, reaching a crescendo that I didn’t think I’d hear with them. 

    It is a quality song, one that others should look to when writing a ‘good’ doom song because it is a belter. Dakhma is almost an anti-climax after that but isn’t without its charms. Taking some of its cues from Entropy, its happy to wield its own form sonic destruction and close this 5-song cracker out. Look for the almost angelic vocals running through it as it wraps up.

    I think in all honesty it’s has the capacity to held up as a statement release. Its doom in the style they want to play and its all the more honest for it. I couldn’t say that its essential for everyone, but then if we all like the same then it would be pretty boring. If you have a hankering for big guitars then check them out. 8/10

    Imbrium - Singularity (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

    If you like Evergrey then you'll like Imbrium. There I said it, this Leeds/London band take a lot of influence from the Swedish mastered with their dark melodic take on prog metal. 

    Featuring former members of Dreamcatcher, Memoreve and The Defiled, their EP, Singularity brings together dark melodic metal and progressive composition, striking a balance been atmosphere and weight.

    From beginning of Fade Away which moves between driving riffs and piano driven choruses, the chunky The Dark Is Home, through the guitar riff meets orchestrations of Reach Out and the stirring finale of Dark Singularity, the guitars all come with a down tuned heaviness but there's also and abundance of sympathetic keys and synths, with an emotional heft in the lyrics that lends itself to the introspective sound Imbrium create.

    The band say that they create music "that’s designed to hit hard—sonically and emotionally" and Singularity does do that in the same way that Tom S Englund and co can. They'll make you headbang one song, then cry the next and Imbrium do something similar with their songs about pain and loss, sung with passionate vocals and played with technical precision that never lets virtuosity hinder the melodies.

    An impressive EP from Imbrium, a must for any fans of Evergrey or bands that have an emotional side to their prog metal. 8/10

    Astral Goat Dominion - Only Lucifer And Fuzz (Self Released) [Joe Guatieri]

    Astral Goat Dominion are a two piece Doom Metal band from Italy consisting of guitarist and vocalist Sergio Khaosfuzz and bassist and programmer Marco Oniric. Today I’ll be covering their debut album Only Lucifer And Fuzz which was released on the 31st October, 2025.

    Getting into the record after the introductory interlude, we have track two with Lucifer (Part I). The guitar and bass both act as an ocean covering the song, immediately reminding me of Come My Fanatics era, Electric Wizard but not as raw. I say that as the guitars are trying to envelop you but they can’t, sure the loud volume is there but all of the other elements at play suck the life out of the track.

    The drum machine is far too studio ready sounding clean and shiny, it’s as if they used computer software and simply dragged and dropped the sample on top of everything else. Similarly with the organ sound which attempts to create a spooky atmosphere, is just completely out of place. It’s unfortunate as well that all of this happens alongside vocals that just drone on and on, it’s not hypnotic, it’s boring.

    The album title track doesn’t get much better. It has a clear Kyuss influence but it’s far too fast for its own good. Then to confuse myself even more by 1:04, there is a full-blown Disco section where the bass starts playing bouncy octaves, it completely threw me out of the experience.

    Getting deeper with track seven, Make The Sludge Doom Great Again, performs a sin. It’s trying to insight a Black Sabbath-esque sing-along, constantly trying to beg people to get out their lighters and wave along with the band and the venue stops the show for fear of a fire hazard. The vocal just falls flat on its face and there is nothing appealing about it, not even heaviness can save the day.

    This is a debut album and man does it feel like it… At last count one or two good to interesting riffs but they still copy Electric Wizard and that’s the thing with this record, I would rather be listening to anything else. After the album finished on a streaming service that I refuse to mention, a Mephistopheles song came on and I was transported into a world that I wanted to be in, it was so night and day.

    Overall, Astral Goat Dominion has sadly failed to impress me with Only Lucifer And Fuzz. The lack of a drummer and simple programming really hurts the record, resulting in something that sounds lifeless. Obviously the band are huge fans of Doom, Stoner and Sludge as a whole but they do things which we’ve all heard a thousand times before and they go nowhere. It’s like having a drunken conversation with a few friends and not acting on a thought as you know for a fact that it would be a bad idea, no matter how fun it seems. 2/10